Knighthood
Knighthood is a feudal rank and honor given to warriors who perform exemplary services for a lord or the king of a realm. Knights are given the title of “Sir” if they are male and “Lady” if they are female, though these titles can be superseded by higher titles such as “Lord”, “Prince”, “Princess”, “King”, and “Queen”. Knights are loyal to the noble houses that employs them and make up near a tenth of their military force. They religiously are influenced by a code of chivalry and honor, though whether knights live up to that code is up to the individual. Becoming a Knight Knighthood is not hereditary nor can it be granted to anyone who lacks swordsmanship, therefore the path to becoming a knight requires extensive years of training and many expensive purchases. A young knight-in-training is known as a “Squire”. The life of a squire begins at the age of fourteen. Children destined to become knights are sent during the day to train and assist seasoned knights whose duties they cannot handle alone. Such task usually involves great expenditures and significant sums of money to purchase armor, weapons and other materials which is why knighthood is hardly ever reached by commoners, and by the children of nobles that are not the heirs to their household. It is rare, but not unheard of for a commoner to rise to the rank of knight. They must first distinguish themselves in combat, which often happens in wartime. Knight can also be passed to combatants as rewards for performing great services. This of course is dependent on the lord that is being served. A practice started by Tobias Lannister gives opportunity to find potential knights amongst the smallfolk. There are knights within the reining houses' knight force that scout the kingdom for lowborn children that show potential in combat and learning the code of chivalry and honor. If they are thought to have potential to become knights, they are given finances to attend a school for lowborn children where they may skip the process of becoming a squire and instead focus on their studies and combat. Types of Knights * Hedge Knights – Commoners that rose to knighthood. They received their name because of how poor they are, typically found living under hedges. They travel from city to city, looking for work and attending tournaments to impress lords. Hedge Knights typically reach knighthood because they were hired by lord to perform a job, and were then let go after the job was completed. * Sworn Swords – The most common knight, sworn swords hold fealty to a lord or noble house. The most experienced and the ones that come from other noble houses serve noble families personally, while others enforce the laws in the lord’s holdings. * Landed Knights – One of the highest honors a knight can reach, landed knights are those who have performed exemplary service and who have been rewarded a smallholding, a farm, a manor, and servants. In theory, they can rise up politically and become a noble house themselves in time, receiving the title of Lord.